‘Free’ Bernie Sanders

It is not surprising that aging Hillary Clinton is having trouble getting the youth vote but young Democrat voters overwhelmingly supporting the even more aging Bernie Sanders has surprised many. However, when you consider what Bernie stands for, the reasons become obvious.

Bernie Sanders is strongly pushing for a “free” college education. That is, of course, attractive to anyone facing the rising cost of a college education and the ensuing burden of a student loan. It certainly speaks to today’s youth who have been thoroughly indoctrinated by a liberal education system advocating the socialistic ideal of cradle-to-grave government care. How we are to pay for that “free” education is not clear but it is also not relevant to those wanting and expecting freebies.

Sanders calls himself a “democratic socialist” but that distinction is not understood by most and it is certainly lost on today’s youth. The failure of our education system is responsible for the lack of knowledge concerning socialism’s failure throughout history and, consequently, today’s youth are gravitating towards socialism’s vacuous promise of a utopian society. The “Occupy” movement and unrealistic demands heard on college campuses are a product of this ignorance of socialism.

Sanders takes advantage of this ignorance with his socialistic promises of a “free” college education, guaranteed health care, and $15 an hour minimum wage – in other words, freebies. He demonizes corporations and the rich and rails against income inequality, an easy sell to young workers starting at low salaries. His 90% tax rate for the rich sounds fine to those far from the top but it is not enough and the middle class will have to reach further into their pockets to help pay for all the “free” stuff.

At the age of 74, Bernie Sanders is not considered too old for Democrats who expressed concern about John McCain’s age (71) in 2008 and Ronald Reagan’s age (69) in 1980. JFK was 43–yrs-old when he took office and Obama, 47-years-old in 2008, was touted as a youthful and energetic change much needed for the country. Meanwhile, Democrats accuse Marco Rubio (44) and Ted Cruz (45) of being much too young to be president.

What is most certainly getting old is the hypocrisy – along with Sanders (74) and Hillary (68).

David J. Hentosh

Democrat Debate, Enter Stage Left

“Do black lives matter or do all lives matter?” What the hell kind of debate question was that? Requiring an either/or answer is flat out ignorant and foolishly irresponsible. It panders to a political movement that is fomenting racial unrest and tacitly (sometimes explicitly) encouraging anarchy and the killing of police. Lives have been lost because of this movement but, apparently, those lives aren’t supposed to matter.

Jim Webb was the only candidate who courageously broke from the pack by responding: “As a President of the United States, every life in this country matters”. In fact, Webb was the only candidate not attempting to be as far left as possible. He came across as “old school” in that he seemed to have integrity, class, and reasonable responses – all sorely missing in the other candidates. He was surprisingly impressive but certainly not to the far left, so he will be raked over the coals by the media and ousted quickly. He would fit more comfortably with the GOP. The Democratic Party has no place for him.

Sanders was Sanders, a self-proclaimed socialist and as such, a favorite of the far left. He told us that climate change was our greatest national security threat, a view also held by our socialist-leaning president. Social issues, of course, dominated the debate, as they are the focus of the Democratic Party and the current administration. More “free” stuff from the government was offered to entice voters. Foreign affairs and policies, Democrat’s largest failures, received little attention.

Hillary dominated the debate as expected, having little competition from the candidates on the stage. She was not seriously questioned about the scandals dragging her polling numbers down. Her e-mail fiasco was sneeringly dismissed, allowing her to treat the debate as a personal campaign rally, eliciting applause from an adoring crowd.

This debate did little more than show how far left the Democrat Party has traveled. The middle ground has been deserted in search of far left votes. So, too, has the good of the country been deserted.

David J. Hentosh

The Trump Card

According to the media, everyone is outraged over Donald Trump’s remarks concerning John McCain. According to the media, the American people would never vote for Trump and if he doesn’t apologize to McCain, he will have to quit the race.

The media, however, has no clue what the majority of American people think. The media has been making self-serving, biased claims for so long that it now believes its own hype. The media has bullied politicians into cowering in fear but Donald Trump is not cowering and not apologizing – and the media is stunned.

Donald Trump may not realistically have much of a chance of becoming president, but his continuing popularity baffles and scares those convinced everyone thinks as the media does. People, however, are tired of the media and Trump’s refusal to bow to media pressure, along with daring to speak his mind, is a breath of fresh air.

Hillary is trying to manipulate media exposure, isolate herself from the slime of her own scandals, and reinvent an acceptable image for voters. Bernie Sanders is moving the far-left boundary even further left, trying to take advantage of Hillary’s unpopularity and the left’s dissatisfaction with Obama’s failure to turn America into a progressive utopia. GOP candidates are shedding or concealing conservative principles as they try to attract minority voters who have been brainwashed into voting for Democrats regardless of qualifications or issues. Donald Trump is simply being himself – and that is intriguing to many.

Openly addressing our illegal immigrant and border problems may end up being Trump’s biggest contribution to the presidential campaign, but it is huge. Until Trump dared speak out, amnesty was THE immigration topic for the media while Mexico, illegal immigrant felons, refusal to enforce immigration laws, and sanctuary cities were downplayed as side issues. Trump spoke openly of reality and defied the media, changing the landscape for the presidential campaign.

The Trump Card has been played against the left’s Race Card and is proving to be powerful. For that, many are grateful.

David J. Hentosh